Sesame, or Sesamum indicum, is a tropical annual cultivated worldwide for its oil and its nut flavored seeds. The sesame plant grows to a height of about 52-249 cm, and at its leaf axils are found capsules which contain the sesame seed. Upon maturity in nature, the capsules holding the sesame seeds begin to dry down, the capsules normally split open, and the seeds fall out. Commercially, the harvester tries to recover as much seed as possible from mature capsules. From ancient times through the present, the opening of the capsule has been the major factor in attempting to successfully collect the seed. Harvesting methods, weather, and plant characteristics all contribute to the amount of seed recovered.
The majority of the world's sesame is harvested manually. With manual non-mechanized methods, it is desirable for the sesame seed to fall readily from the plant. Manual harvesting is labor intensive. Efforts to mechanize or partially mechanize harvesting met with limited success.
A breakthrough was accomplished when non-dehiscent (ND) sesame was developed and patented by Derald Ray Langham. ND sesame was found to possess the proper characteristics which would enable mechanical harvesting without the seed loss disadvantages reported with prior varieties.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,100,452, 6,815,576, 6,781,031, 7,148,403, and 7,332,652 each disclose and claim non-dehiscent sesame cultivars having various characteristics.
An improved non-dehiscent sesame (IND) class of sesame was later developed by Derald Ray Langham. IND sesame, through increased constriction, better adhesion between the false membranes, and improved placenta attachment, holds more seed than prior sesame types, as measured four weeks after a crop is ready for harvest (could have been combined). The IND characteristics offer advantages for certain growing applications.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/041,257, filed Mar. 3, 2008 discloses a method for breeding improved non-dehiscent sesame (IND). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/041,205, filed Mar. 3, 2008 discloses an improved non-dehiscent sesame cultivar S32, representative seed having been deposited under ATCC accession number PTA-8888. S32 is a stable, commercially suitable sesame line providing improved non-dehiscence, higher yield, and shorter drydown phase.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/049,705, filed Mar. 17, 2008 discloses an improved non-dehiscent sesame cultivar S30, representative seed having been deposited under ATCC accession number PTA-8887. S30 is a stable, commercially suitable sesame line providing improved non-dehiscence, higher yield, and shorter drydown phase.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/533,972, filed Jul. 31, 2009 discloses an improved non-dehiscent sesame cultivar S27, representative seed having been deposited under ATCC accession number PTA-10184. S27 is a stable, commercially suitable sesame line providing improved non-dehiscence, higher yield, and shorter drydown phase.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/565,095, filed Sep. 23, 2009 discloses a non-dehiscent black sesame cultivar S55, representative seed having been deposited under ATCC accession number PTA-10185. S55 is a stable, commercially suitable sesame line providing the only black sesame that can be mechanically harvested.
Although sesame plants which are shorter than about 110 cm have been developed in order to attempt to increase the harvest index (the weight of the seed divided by the weight of the plant to include the seed), heretofore no known sesame plant in this height range exhibited ND or IND characteristics. Without ND or IND characteristics, shorter sesame plants have to be manually harvested. Such shorter plants present a disadvantage in manual harvesting because the worker has to bend over further to make a cut below the lowest capsule.